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2017 Houston Texans Official OTA's, Minicamp, and Training Camp Thread

CloakNNNdagger said:
(If you're implying no injury and just stashing) Doesn't seem too likely for players (excluding Hopkins and Fuller) such as Mancz, Clark, Sio Moore, either Miller or Hunt, Ellington and even nelson.
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McNair appears to be on some kind of austerity plan, spending as little as he can after flushing $30 million down the toilet last year. Paying players to sit doesn't appear to be part of his agenda at this time.
 
Aaron Wilson‏@AaronWilson_NFL 10m10 minutes ago

Marcus Leak left practice early, looked like he's dealing with heat issues

Bill O'Brien on Tom Savage 'Tom is our starter. He's had a good camp' Emphasized he's No. 1 and Deshaun Watson No. 2

Braxton Miller (ankle) didn't practice

Chris Clark remains sidelined at practice with lower body soreness

Christian Covington and Bruce Ellington returned to practice

Jadeveon Clowney, DeAndre Hopkins, C.J. Fiedorowicz didn't practice, D'Onta Foreman didn't finish practice due to muscle soreness
 
Chris Clark being out with "lower body soreness" makes me think back to the hip and ankle issues (injury reports) he had the whole last half of 2016.
 
Texian said:
What do you think Doc, is the warranty wearing out on his microfracture surgery?
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If Clowney carefully reads the operative permit he signed, he will find no warranty/guarantees. In fact, he will find that a phrase such as "return to original condition" is written in as a possibility/probability outcome.
 
TexansBull said:
http://m.chron.com/sports/texans/article/Texans-coach-Bill-O-Brien-celebrates-son-Jack-11950675.php

His medical condition has a life expectancy of 3-5 year life span. It must be a special day for him to be 15 today. Very happy for them.
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I've been involved in placing a feeding gastrostomy tube this type of patient. Unless anything has changed in the past few years, these patients are very fortunate to make it to 10 years old. I'll pray for another 10 years for the little guy.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
I've been involved in placing a feeding gastrostomy tube this type of patient. Unless anything has changed in the past few years, these patients are very fortunate to make it to 10 years old. I'll pray for another 10 years for the little guy.
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Although I do not know the exact circumstances, I do have to make one last comment. Lissencephaly in some cases can be mild enough that although there is some brain dysfunction, these patients can have near normal brain function and lifespan. With his already longer than expected life span, I pray that this is the case with O'Brien's son.
 
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Texas Jake said:
You work with what you got and there have been plenty of examples of players who have walked in off the street and impacted the game. Carl Roaches was driving a garbage truck IIRC, walked in off the street for a try-out and became a heck of a return man for the Oilers in 1980-84.
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Oilers liked truck drivers, Johnny Dirden drove a cement truck before signing an Oiler contract.

:coffee:
 
patrick‏Verified account @PatDStat 4m4 minutes ago (READ FROM BOTTOM TO TOP)

Savage hits Anderson for a touchdown. Good pocket and time.


Watson throws an INT in the endzone. Malik Foreman picks it off.


Not the best for the Texans O there. TFL and incomplete pass to Anderson.


Sheldon Rankins damn near took the handoff. Blows up the first Texans run.


Ingram punches it in for the Saints on their last play.


Texans front just running through the Saints offensive line. Brees with zero time.


Both units of the Texans defense have turned it up.


Adrian Peterson taking the lap for his fumble.


Clowney and Mercilus sack Brees and pull up. Texans defense win this round.Pull up as in stop before hitting Brees.


Clowney and Mercilus sack Brees and pull up. Texans defense win this round.


Texans cause the fumble in red zone work. Watt picked it up and would have been off the races.


Texans miss defensive back blitz. Watson sacked.


Watson scanning the field so much better. Hits Baylis.


Texans offense has receivers running wide open everywhere. Now Savage hits Ellington.


Texans pick up the twist and Savage throws a dime to Ervin in stride for a TD. Ervin blew by the LB.


Decoud a near pick. Daniel saved by Coleman by breaking up the pass.


Texans defense back on track. Brees and the offense not good that session.


Saints offensive tackles doing everything to stop Watt and Clowney. Holding and grabbing facemasks.


Texans notch another sack. Flip a coin. Mercilus or McKinney get to Brees.


Watson hits Blue. Blue fumbles. Up and down day today for the Texans.


Texans miss the stunt upfront and Savage sacked.


No D'Onta Foreman today. Miller, Blue and Ervin getting the work.


Savage all day to throw. Hits Lamar Miller for a nice gain.


Adrian Peterson running vs the Texans second team defense. Too easy for him.


Kurtis Drummond INT off a tipped pass.


Kamara having a strong day today.


Clowney just broke TE Josh Hill. Dumped in the backfield into the ball carrier to stop the run.


And Joel Heath gets the sack on Brees. Play blown dead.


Texans defense get a chance to redeem themselves. Clowney, Watt and Mercilus all on the field.


These joint practices are good work but both teams try and protect each other. Not take each other to the ground etc.


Couple Texans players went to go discuss that hit with Bush.


Rafael Bush just laid a questionable hit on Ogunbowale. Texans players not happy at all.


Defense blow a coverage. Brees hits wide open receiver in the end zone.


Marcus Roberson is having a strong day. Just cut off a route for the corner of the endzone.


Adrian Peterson just beat McKinney on a rail route for a TD. Hall couldn't get over the top in time.


Texans offensive line in 1on1s really sharp. First group especially.


The size of the Saints receivers is a clear issue today. Boxing out Texans defensive backs.


Texans defense struggling vs the run today. Not like them.


Split fields. Both teams in team drill.


Blue just ripped off a big run and shortly after Kamara goes untouched vs the Texans D.


Brees is dealing. Secondary having a tough time.


1on1s going on. Marcus Roberson and Bruce Ellington having strong showings.


Field is slick today. Players slipping and sliding everywhere.
 
patrick‏Verified account @PatDStat 6m6 minutes ago (READ BOTTOM TO TOP)

Watson's turn to run the 2 minute. Hits Chris Thompson to move the chains.

Clowney beats the LT this time. Would have been another one.

Clowney darts through would have been a sack.

Saints O and D win that round.

Savage throws an INT. Von Bell picks it off.

Lamm and Breno being mean out here.

Giacomini and Cam Jordan good work against each other today.

Saints two minute drill capped off with a double move beating Kevin Johnson. Drew Brees just picking away at the defense.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
Clowney has evidently returned to practice today for the joint practice
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Awright, awright !
I still won't be surprised if Billy holds him out until the RS starts which is OK with me, and I'd hope they do the same with Watt.
And sounds like Oline was respectably today in practice vs the Saints, so that's encouraging.
 
Quick Hitters: Texans Hold Joint Practice With the Saints
The Houston Texans held a joint practice with the New Orleans Saints at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center.


The Houston Texans held a joint practice with the New Orleans Saints at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center in Metairie, Louisiana. The Texans and Saints had a full workout in pads on two fields which hosted organized practice schedules. Both teams ran 70 plays a piece on Thursday allowing both teams to get plenty of reps on the field.


Five Quick Hitters From the Joint Practice

The Texans had an up-and-down day, the down part coming early as Drew Brees came out and sliced up the Texans defense. However, the table quickly turned when the defense woke up and began dismantling the Saints offensive line. Jadeveon Clowney, J.J. Watt, Whitney Mercilus, and Joel Heath all would have had sacks if this was a real game but during practice, plays are either blown dead or defenders run by the quarterback to allow the play to continue. The Texans offense also peaked towards to the middle of practice with Tom Savage and the offense moving the ball well, especially getting the ball into the hands of Tyler Ervin, Bruce Ellington, Ryan Griffin, and Lamar Miller. Towards the end of practice, the Saints turned up the heat on both offense and defense as the Texans fell flat on both side of the ball.

The offensive line for the Texans was the clear standout for the day with Kendall Lamm and Breno Giacomini both showing up as plus players on the field. Lamm and Giacomini were each able to control Hau’oli Kikaha and Cameron Jordan, the Saints top two pass rushers. Tom Savage had time to throw from the pocket the majority of the day and the line kept him clean throughout the practice session. When adding this to the play of Nick Martin, Xavier Su’a-Filo, and Jeff Allen, the interior of the Texans offensive line had an impressive performance.

The cornerbacks for the Texans struggled some today as Kevin Johnson and Johnathan Joseph tried to keep up with the bigger and stronger options that the Saints roll out on the field. Johnson struggled on the choppy field, having trouble keeping his footing and allowing his receiver a big catch and run. Also, Johnson was beat on a double move which was dropped in perfectly by Brees for a touchdown. Marcus Roberson had a strong day today in coverage and was one of the few Texans defensive backs able to body up with the Saints receivers. Roberson showed that he has a chance to fight for one of the final roster spots with his performance today. He got his hands on footballs and made solid plays when it counted.

When the Texans were able to get Tyler Ervin and Bruce Ellington on the field at the same time, they caused some issues for the Saints defense in coverage. Ervin had a touchdown reception off the arm of Tom Savage when Ervin beat a linebacker down the sideline, while Ellington was a menace in the middle of the field when targeted by Savage. Both Ervin and Ellington had strong days in the pass receiving department and the Texans showed a glimpse of the duo's ability to exploit match-ups for favorable results.THE REST OF THE STORY
 
Extended Cut of Texans Joint Practice with the Saints
A closer look at a busy day for the Houston Texans joint practice with the New Orleans Saints.

A closer look at the Houston Texans day of work against the New Orleans Saints.

Wendall Williams is one of the few Texans wide receivers who can win with raw speed, which he put on display in 1 on 1s today. He just walks by defenders in coverage and is able to beat defenders with athleticism by either high pointing the football or using his imposing speed to run by defenders. The one thing he has to improve on is taking that success to the team portion of practices. He almost becomes nonexistent in those situations.

The return of Joel Heath is a positive and now, the defensive line front is back to 100%. Heath is the Texans base defensive end and helped balance out the unit with D.J. Reader and J.J. Watt on the interior. Heath made his presence known quick with a “sack” of Brees to open up the team period for the defense. He is still working to get into the swing of things but his return is a positive for the defense.

With no D’Onta Foreman, due to an injury he suffered on practice Tuesday, the Texans turned to Lamar Miller, Alfred Blue, and Tyler Ervin to handle the running game duties. Blue ran hard but did have a fumble after a nice catch and run. Miller looked a little more comfortable in the offense and helped Savage in the passing game. Ervin was everywhere for the offense, continuing to making plays both in the backfield and working out of the slot.

Tom Savage sped up his work with the offense. Credit the offensive line for giving him time to literally to do what he wanted to in the pocket. Savage worked well in tandem with Tyler Ervin, Bruce Ellington, Stephen Anderson, and Ryan Griffin. He did sail a pass that was intercepted in a two-minute drill on a 3rd down play while pushing for the first down, but other than that, Savage and the offense had a clean outing. Savage also did a good job of working underneath and letting his skill players work just like the offense is intended to work in this scheme. The unit looked crisp and the team continues to push Bruce Ellington and Dres Anderson in the offense to get them a better look with the regular season closing in.

Deshaun Watson had a mixed day in joint practices with the Saints on Thursday, but the most important thing remains: he is trying to operate out of the pocket. The few times the plays did break down, he was able to turn in big gains with his scrambling ability. Watson worked well underneath, much like Savage did, and hit Chris Thompson, Rahsaun Allen, Alfred Blue, and others to move the chains. He also had an interception in the red zone work but that was a result of a pass deflected at the last second, popping the ball in the air so a defender could catch it and take it the other way. It was a bang bang play where the receiver should have been in better position. Watson had a good day, understanding coverages and knowing where to go with the football. Along with the performance by Savage, the quarterback group had a solid day.

Stephen Anderson also had a strong day and finally got going in the offense with Tom Savage. Anderson caught a touchdown on a route right inside the pylon. Anderson got off to a slow start for the preseason but now he has started to put it together, becoming the pass catching threat he was billed as coming out of college. The combination of he and Griffin is a good one for the Texans, especially with Savage being able to find them in the passing game. THE REST OF THE STORY
 
Texansballer74 said:
Any updates on D. Browns possible return? Are they in any talks at all?
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We will probably see him report September 1-3 because he is not going to turn down game checks.

Each game Check is worth $~552,492. He lost ~$1M in fines and deescalators and that's no big thing.

$~1.1 million every 2 games is a big sum to turn down. Not saying I have complete faith in Lamm and Giacomini but if they remain serviceable *read cheap* and give us average Oline play, I could see BOb throwing a ***** fit ala Mallett and having him cut/shipped out. If we could get a rotational piece and a draft pick, do the deal.

RS knows that if he caves for DB then he opens wounds for future negotiations he would never be able to close.
 
Some thoughts: Wendall Williams is fast in practice until team drills then cannot catch anything. With starters out, he needs to have break out game vs Saints. New WR Bruce Ellington continues to play well.

On radio 610 am 5 pm hour topic was name now players who could be pro bowl candidates. Defense mentioned were CB Kevin Johnson "he was arguably best player on defense" seems to have come back with no sign of health issues. OLB Whitney Mercilus adding much healthier Watt, Clowney (who seems to be blowing observers away) and a more 'active' Cushing could push Mercilus to repeat his 2015 stats: 16 games, 52 tackles, 14 for loss, 12 sacks, 16 QB hits, 2 passes defended (I could see this increasing) 1 forced fumble + 2 recovered fumbles.

On offense C Nick Martin was offered as possible pro bowler if he plays regular season as he has preseason. I voiced this opinion few days ago. His chances should go up if DB return game one and S'ua Filo continues to improve.


I want to see at minimum one more WR prove he can be productive along with Hopkins. That could be Ellington at Slot but Strong would then need to earn his salary on outside. Wendall, Strong and Braxton need to play like they want to be in the NFL. Just my 2 cents but WR Riley McCarron seems to have lost sizzle I heard during OTAs. I thought at 5'9" he might have trouble with larger DBs but I haven't seen anything from him saying he should be on field.

TE Stephen Anderson 6'2" 230 has size to handle some WR duties if not the speed. He has shown ability to be quick off line and get past LBs. Is he an option at this weakened position?

Players I am not hearing much about: Covington, Ballantine, Pleasant and Dillon.

This game needs to bring a lot of info for our final roster.
 
The offensive line for the Texans was the clear standout for the day with Kendall Lamm and Breno Giacomini both showing up as plus players on the field. Lamm and Giacomini were each able to control Hau’oli Kikaha and Cameron Jordan, the Saints top two pass rushers. Tom Savage had time to throw from the pocket the majority of the day and the line kept him clean throughout the practice session. When adding this to the play of Nick Martin, Xavier Su’a-Filo, and Jeff Allen, the interior of the Texans offensive line had an impressive performance.
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What is offensive tackle gonna end up being a strength of this team even without DB ? Damn I'm starting to get really excited here !
 
IDEXAN said:
The offensive line for the Texans was the clear standout for the day with Kendall Lamm and Breno Giacomini both showing up as plus players on the field. Lamm and Giacomini were each able to control Hau’oli Kikaha and Cameron Jordan, the Saints top two pass rushers. Tom Savage had time to throw from the pocket the majority of the day and the line kept him clean throughout the practice session. When adding this to the play of Nick Martin, Xavier Su’a-Filo, and Jeff Allen, the interior of the Texans offensive line had an impressive performance.
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What is offensive tackle gonna end up being a strength of this team even without DB ? Damn I'm starting to get really excited here !
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I think Martin will solidify the interior OL for a long time to come. Our tackles, if just half decent, would be an improvement. DB was solid last year while RT was terrible. I still think DB will be the starter whenever he shows up but man having some depth would be freaking great. OL is probably everyone's greatest concern.
 
PapaL said:
I think Martin will solidify the interior OL for a long time to come. Our tackles, if just half decent, would be an improvement. DB was solid last year while RT was terrible. I still think DB will be the starter whenever he shows up but man having some depth would be freaking great. OL is probably everyone's greatest concern.
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Right he may anchor and solidify the interior but of course the edge is what we are most concerned about which is why the tackles are so important. I'm not to the place yet where I'm like "we don't need no stinkin Duane Brown", but honestly it sounds like the tackles including new guy Giacomini (vs Jordan), are playing fair to midland between the Pats game and practice in NOLA this week. I dunno but don't think it's too over the top tosay there's grounds for encouragement here ?
 
IDEXAN said:
Right he may anchor and solidify the interior but of course the edge is what we are most concerned about which is why the tackles are so important. I'm not to the place yet where I'm like "we don't need no stinkin Duane Brown", but honestly it sounds like the tackles including new guy Giacomini (vs Jordan), are playing fair to midland between the Pats game and practice in NOLA this week. I dunno but don't think it's too over the top tosay there's grounds for encouragement here ?
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Plus we know we'll be running a TE or two out there to help the tackles. RBs will really need to pick up their blocking assignments. I'm trying not to drink too much koolaide since it's preseason and everyone minus Robert Nelson Jr look good lol but yeah I think the arrow isn't pointing down as of right now. Cautiously optimistic is the boat I'm in.
 
I think I read this in the Chronicle several days ago, but Lamm was explaining that he was beginning to get comfortable at RT. But, he said, LT was his natural position and where he was most comfortable, because this is the position he played in college.

This, his third year, should be a breakout year for him; and moving back to LT might be a big positive. He probably won't be up to the level of Brown, but if he could perform adequately and G-man hold down RT, we might possibly have a better line than anyone has anticipated.
 
Number19 said:
I think I read this in the Chronicle several days ago, but Lamm was explaining that he was beginning to get comfortable at RT. But, he said, LT was his natural position and where he was most comfortable, because this is the position he played in college.

This, his third year, should be a breakout year for him; and moving back to LT might be a big positive. He probably won't be up to the level of Brown, but if he could perform adequately and G-man hold down RT, we might possibly have a better line than anyone has anticipated.
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I surely hope so
 
IDEXAN said:
The offensive line for the Texans was the clear standout for the day with Kendall Lamm and Breno Giacomini both showing up as plus players on the field. Lamm and Giacomini were each able to control Hau’oli Kikaha and Cameron Jordan, the Saints top two pass rushers. Tom Savage had time to throw from the pocket the majority of the day and the line kept him clean throughout the practice session. When adding this to the play of Nick Martin, Xavier Su’a-Filo, and Jeff Allen, the interior of the Texans offensive line had an impressive performance.
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What is offensive tackle gonna end up being a strength of this team even without DB ? Damn I'm starting to get really excited here !
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It's the Saints defense.

I would slow my roll a little bit if I were you.
 
steelbtexan said:
It's the Saints defense.

I would slow my roll a little bit if I were you.
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Our first string O-line looked pretty good against the Pats first string D-line last week. Neither was on the field very long but for the time our first string played they did a good if not great job blocking. The article has to be taken with a grain of salt so to speak but I will take good news in regards to our O- line and see the glass half full. Especially when it follows up a good showing against the Pats the week before.
 
TxnsJuggernaut said:
Our first string O-line looked pretty good against the Pats first string D-line last week. Neither was on the field very long but for the time our first string played they did a good if not great job blocking. The article has to be taken with a grain of salt so to speak but I will take good news in regards to our O- line and see the glass half full. Especially when it follows up a good showing against the Pats the week before.
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We haven't faced any team with elite pass rushers. In fact, at least the 1st 3 regular season opponents don't have any outside pass rushers that would scar anyone. The Oline is bound to look better than they are. My fear factor will rise acutely when they are finally confronted by monster Ds (against pass and/or run). Only then will the Oline show its true colors. It would be nice to be surprised, but this preseason has been no surprise except for all the local reporting that is trying to do everything and anything to put lipstick on a pig that is the Oline.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
We haven't faced any team with elite pass rushers. In fact, at least the 1st 3 regular season opponents don't have any outside pass rushers that would scar anyone. The Oline is bound to look better than they are. My fear factor will rise acutely when they are finally confronted by monster Ds (against pass and/or run). Only then will the Oline show its true colors. It would be nice to be surprised, but this preseason has been no surprise except for all the local reporting that is trying to do everything and anything to put lipstick on a pig that is the Oline.
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Chris Clark held Khalil Mack to 0 sacks in the playoffs. Just sayin...
 
TheRealJoker said:
Chris Clark held Khalil Mack to 0 sacks in the playoffs. Just sayin...
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I would not get too excited about that. I would not want to see a repeat Clark/Mack competition. True, Mack had an impressive 11 sacks last year. BUT, he did not have a single sack in the last 4 games he played............including the Houston-Oakland playoff loss at the Houston in January. At the completion of the playoffs, it was revealed that he had been dealing during that period of time with an injury which was never disclosed (another example of how much of a joke the Injury Reports many times are).
 
TxnsJuggernaut said:
Our first string O-line looked pretty good against the Pats first string D-line last week. Neither was on the field very long but for the time our first string played they did a good if not great job blocking. The article has to be taken with a grain of salt so to speak but I will take good news in regards to our O- line and see the glass half full. Especially when it follows up a good showing against the Pats the week before.
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They never had more than 2 first stringers on the front 4 or 5
Often times they also have 2 second stringers on the second level (LBs).

Here's what they started out with:
LDE 93 Guy Lawrence (2nd), LDT 99 Vince Valentine (2nd), RDT 90 Malcom Brown (1st), 94 RDE Kony Ealy (1st)
LOLB 48 Harvey Langi (3rd) ROLB 53 Kyle Van Noy (2nd)
52 MLB Elandon Roberts (2nd)
In fact, that's how they played the whole first series.

On the second series, they brought in another 3rd stringer on the line (#64), but replace a second stringer at LB with Harris #45:
48-3, 97-1, 99-2, 64-3
53-2, 45-1
That was how they played for the most part on the second series.

On one play, they put in a 4th stringer #70 Adam Butler
On short yardage, they added another second-string lineman #93

I had charted the whole two series, play by play.
 
Kendall Lamm:

Kendall attended Butler high school in which he graduated and then went on to study at Appalachian State. He then graduated with a bachelor's degree in Communication-Public relations in December 2014. Kendall also held a top achievement of being a member of the Appalachian State athletics’ academic honor roll.[2]

His first season with the Mountaineers in 2011 saw him play 8 out of 12 games. The four games that he had missed were due to an injury which caused him to miss 2 games and later on he was suspended for 2 games due to misconduct.

In his second year in 2012, Kendall saw more game time as he started 11-of-12 games at left tackle. The one game he did miss was due to a heady injury sustained in training. Within the season he was number one in the team with the highest season long job grade, 87%, and technique grade, 79%. Kendall also improved his behavior and conduct, in his second season he did not commit a single penalty.

The last 2 seasons of his college career saw Kendall excelling and performing extremely well. He played in all 24 games and was recognized by many coaches as one of the best in the conference.[3] As a right back tackle he managed to record a total of 46 knockdowns in 2014 alone. He was praised to be an exceptional leader of an offensive line that managed to only allow 11 sacks all season. That is a record which is tied for 8th among the league. To close the 2014 season, Lamm lead his team to a 6-game winning streak in which the offensive line lead the attack for the Mountaineers to rush for 1,747 yards (291.2 ypg) and allowed only one sack. He also recorded a game in which he had a performance of the season in which he registered a total of 28 knockdowns and was charged with allowing only one sack all season.
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If Breno Giacomini can remain healthy..ish a Clark & Davenport may be enough back up. Brown should be watching next two games very closely. I texted OBrien to pour Gorilla Glue all over Gman to hold him together. CnnnD's post about three reg season games being not so tough rushing opponents is good news to my ears.
 
What To Watch for the Texans Against the Saints in the Preseason
The Houston Texans are set to kickoff their third preseason game against the New Orleans Saints. Here are some things to watch for the Texans.
Patrick Starr - 61 minutes ago

The home stretch of the preseason is set to start for the Houston Texans who are going up against the New Orleans Saints in their third preseason game. Roster spots are still up for grabs and getting the Texans set up for the season remains the goal of the coaching staff. With some work already done, there is plenty more to watch heading into the final two preseason games of 2017.

We have said it plenty on the site this week but expect to see a heavy dose of Bruce Ellington and Dres Anderson in the passing game. Call it insurance, but the Texans are trying to get both Ellington and Anderson caught up with the offense and ready for week one. The team expects both DeAndre Hopkins and Braxton Miller to be ready for week one but Tom Savage has been doing a good job this week of getting Ellington and Anderson involved in the offense and letting them use their athletic ability to create plays with the ball in the their hands.

There is still opportunity at the cornerback spot behind the Texans top three, composed of Kareem Jackson, Johnathan Joseph, and Kevin Johnson. It looks like Treston Decoud could be ready to fill in the void of the 4th option of the group but with injuries to Robert Nelson and Dee Virgin, opportunities lay ahead for Marcus Roberson and Bryce Jones. The Texans will work Decoud, Roberson, and Jones as often as they can to get a look at the trio. Jones has been playing more nickel cornerback while Roberson had a strong joint practice against the Saints and is now looking to build off that success on Saturday.

The running back group is banged up with D’Onta Foreman (groin), Alfred Blue (ankle), Akeem Hunt (hamstring), and Dare Ogunbowale all dealing with injuries and more than likely, all four will miss the third preseason game. The Texans have added free agent running back Jordan Todman, leaving Lamar Miller, and Tyler Ervin as their only healthy backs for the game. The status of Ogunbowale is unknown at this point after his injury but if he can play he will be on the field. The Texans do not want to run their backs into the dirt in a meaningless game but there will have to be a running game at least when the starting unit is in there. Expect plenty of Alfred Blue and Todman just to try and get them through the game in one piece. The Texans will likely also throw the ball around the yard plenty on Saturday due to the lack of health among the running backs.

Corey Moore looks to be in position to start week one next to Andre Hal after a strong two last weeks from him on the practice field as well as in the preseason game against the Patriots. Eddie Pleasant has solidified his spot in the group also, while the final two spots remain up for grabs. Kurtis Drummond, Marcus Gilchrist, and K.J. Dillon remain in the mix to be with the team when camp ends but there are only two spots left. Drummond, Gilchrist, and Dillon have work to do to impress the Texans and find themselves here for the season. Drummond appears to be ahead of Gilchrist and Dillon but there could be reason to think the Texans are keeping a pulse on rosters around the league. THE REST OF THE STORY
 
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